Sherlock Holmes - A Portrayal of the Greatest Detective of All Time

A tall, black-haired man with a receding hairline is sitting in a cushioned armchair, holding a pipe in his left hand, while extending his right arm in a forward gesture. The room is wrapped in smoke. The man’s sharp facial features, his posture and his eyes gazing at the ceiling towards the far corner of the room all show his concentration. He is fully absorbed in thought, being neither irritated by the heavy clouds of smoke coming from his pipe, nor by the presence of another man in the room. He, who is apparently also preoccupied in thought, gazes at a lamp, which is illuminating the table in front of him and the still blank sheets of paper on which he intends to write. The room is filled with several items, which probably belong to one of the two men sitting in there: A violin, swords, a shield, two filled book shelves, several paintings, boxing gloves, and various other objects one would or would not expect to find in a Victorian home in London. But this is not just any home sometime in the late 19th century London, it is 221B Baker Street in 1881.

This was a glimpse into the home of the consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, as portrayed by the artist Nis Jessen. But who was Sherlock Holmes? He is probably the best known detective in the world and if you were to ask a Holmes enthusiast, you would probably be told that he was "the greatest detective of all time". There are even some people who actually believe that he was a real person and is not a fictional creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The aim of this paper is to portray as many facets of Mr Holmes as possible, including his biography, his character, his methods of work, his personal relationships, his archenemy and, of course, his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.